deathwishfandomcom-20200213-history
Lt. Frank Ochoa
'Lt. Frank Ochoa '''is a New York City Police Lieutenant and is the man assigned to stop Paul Kersey's vigilantism in ''Death Wish and continues to pursue him in Death Wish 2. He is portrayed by actor Vincent Gardenia. History Early life It can be assumed that Lt. Frank Ochoa has been a cop for many years due to his experience and skill in dealing with Paul Kersey's vigilantism. Presumably, he has worked his way up to be a Lieutenant from a lower rank in the NYPD over the years. He seems to know every trick in the book which shows the sign of a long-time good cop. Dealing with Paul Kersey In 1974, a series of vigilante killings committed by Paul Kersey occur in New York City, starting with the death of Thomas Leroy Marston. After the killings become more numerous, Lt. Frank Ochoa is assigned to find out who the vigilante is. After more and more killings occur, Lt. Ochoa and his team corner all families within a certain radius of where the killings occur that have had family members killed by criminals. From those families he cornered all of the ones with men that are old enough to have served in World War Two, The Korean War or The Vietnam War. Paul Kersey fits into all those categories and his house is searched where evidence is found that he is the vigilante, including magazines on vigilantism and a blood soaked roll of gauze that Paul used to clean himself up after he had been stabbed. He is unable to confirm that Paul is the vigilante, but puts him under close police surveillance. He seems to realize it's Paul, but instead of arresting him he tries to scare him, which doesn't work. Eventually, Paul ends up in the hospital as a result of wounds he sustains from a shootout and is ordered to leave New York City, otherwise he would be arrested. Eight years later, in 1982, Paul is living in Los Angeles. After chasing down a group of thieves who stole his wallet, Paul is pursued by Nirvana and his gang. They break into his house and rape and kill Rosario, Paul's maid. Paul and his daughter return and she is kidnapped after Paul is knocked out and she is later killed. Paul sets out for revenge. This catches the attention of the Los Angeles Police who recruit Lt. Ochoa, knowing that he has dealt with Paul before. As the vigilante killings continue, Lt. Ochoa follows Paul to a place where an illegal weapons deal involving surviving members of Nirvana's gang takes place. As both Paul and Ochoa notice, the criminals are trading drugs for weapons. A firefight ensues where Lt. Ochoa saves Paul's life by killing a sniper that was about to kill Paul; however, as the shootout becomes more intense and dangerous, Nirvana grabs an assault rifle and mortally wounds Ochoa before fleeing the place. Before the police reinforcement arrives, Paul promises to a dying Lt. Ochoa that he will find and kill Nirvana for him. Personality Lt. Frank Ochoa seems to be the kind of cop who has been around the block a few times. He knows a lot about criminals' psychology and modus operandi and is able to find a way to corner whoever is the vigilante. He seems to know whenever someone is lying or telling the truth, which leads him to get information about the vigilante at the scene of the vigilante killings. Despite not liking the killings, Lt. Ochoa at the behest of the district attorney lets the killings go on for a while in order to clean up the city. Lt. Ochoa seems to have respect about how Paul was cleaning up the streets and allows him to escape instead of arresting him when he catches him. Lt. Ochoa even saved Paul's life in a shootout with Nirvana's gang saying: "It was either you, or them". It is presumed that Lt. Ochoa wanted to get to Paul before the Los Angeles Police Department could in order to inform him to get away or to be arrested for continuing being a vigilante in Los Angeles. Category:Allies Category:Characters Category:Police Category:Detectives Category:Deceased